


Ka

by flightofwonder



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 16:20:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4228623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightofwonder/pseuds/flightofwonder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of names, homes and promises. (daemon!au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ka

_“I’m not going to be called that.”_

“Why not? It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

_“It’s…simple.”_

“So is ‘Pharaoh’, but you don’t see me objecting to the name,” the ancient spirit interjected from where he was sitting on the bed in his translucent form, that same infuriating smirk still on his face. Of _course_ he would side with the boy.

_“That’s different. That’s a royal title.”_

“It’s only a step above ‘spirit’ and you know it.”

The daemon hissed from where she was crouched on Yugi’s desk. It was a good thing that she was translucent as well, or else the desk would be even more cluttered than it already was. She was bigger than a domesticated cat – it was rare for her to transform into a creature smaller than her Asian golden cat form -  but she was beginning to miss the days she would prowl the streets alongside her human as a tiger, when she could feel the the shadows slip down her fur and puddle at her feet. A spiteful thought, but in truth, she knew she didn’t really miss the shadows born of madness and loneliness and whatever magic the Puzzle contained, no matter how much power it wrought. Yugi had seen to that. But it was a habit, trying to make herself bigger than her human by any means, especially when he insisted on infuriating her like this. At her outburst, that foolish smug grin of his just grew wider. She raised her hackles in turn.

“But look, it’s actually really cool!” Yugi sat down at the desk, unperturbed by the daemon’s show of aggression, a thick text in his hands. It was a common occurrence since him and his daemon - who was currently pacing excitedly in the form of a tabby on the foot of the bed - became aware of their existence. No matter what form the Pharaoh’s daemon took, Yugi was never wary of her, and neither was Wadjet. It sometimes drove her mad how trusting the boy was, almost to the point of stupidity.

 Of course, his unbending trust in her might’ve had something to do with the fact that the more time she spent with the boy, the more she tended to take less threatening forms when he was around. More ‘petable’ forms, her human liked to say, before she delivered a furious scratch to his leg.

“It’s kinda confusing, but basically, in ancient Egyptian terms, you’re the _ka_ to his _ba_ ,” Yugi explained, pointing to the colorful illustrations in the book. The sun had faded, leaving the lamp and some soft beams from the stars shining through the window above them as their only source of light. Yugi was always so restless at night nowadays. “At least, I think so. Most archeologists, Grandpa told me, think that _kas_ must have been daemons, since they would disappear when a person died, according to ancient texts. They would have all of these rituals to make sure the body was preserved, so that the _ba_ and the _ka_ could reunite in the afterlife.”

Wadjet, who was standing very close to where her ‘Pharaoh’ was sitting on the bed – when had they become so comfortable with such proximities? the daemon wondered – pounced from the mattress swiftly onto the desk, and then onto Yugi’s shoulder. It was difficult to miss the eager look in her emerald eyes. The daemon, like her human, wasn’t very good at hiding her emotions. And also like her human, Wadjet had a severe effect on the spirit’s daemon. The closer they were, the more she could feel her own irritation wane and fade away. The pair seemed to have that effect on others, but she in particular found it hard not to feel affection well up in her gut whenever their mind link was open. All of her rage, all of her cruelty, all she had known for all long as she could remember – all of it scattered like leaves in the rain at the sight of Yugi and Wadjet.

Perhaps that was just what light did to darkness, she mused. It melted it away, until all that was left was something bright. Something worth saving.

Something she and her Pharaoh could never be. It wasn't a new revelation; they had known it for some time now. No matter their changed ways, the blood they had spilled with Yugi’s hands still stained them like a brand. Perhaps the reason their names were lost was because they had committed a crime horrific enough that history itself trembled to remember them. Maybe they were meant to be locked away for all eternity. Maybe -

A paw swat at her nose. It was both stern and playful, in the gentle way only Wadjet could be. The ties within their body and the puzzle were complicated and still new to them all, so she wasn’t sure if it was their unearthly connection or just Wadjet’s perceptive nature that caused her to reach out and break her from her thoughts. Twitching her nose, she squinted at the tabby. She only now noticed that the other daemon’s golden fur and feline form seemed to be a mimicry of her own.

 _“What else should we call you, then?”_ she said, turning back towards the Pharaoh. His smirk had disappeared and his arms were crossed, his back unbent with pride but more rigid than usual. To others, he must have seemed so closed off and mysterious. She wondered if Wadjet could see as easily through that façade and she had seen through her own.

 _“You’re not_ nobody _,”_ she said with sincerity and stubbornness both, turning back towards her fellow daemon. _“You’re_ somebody. _”_

There was a stillness in the air for a moment. Then, very tenderly, Wadjet pressed the top of her head into the crook of the other daemon’s neck. _“You’re somebody,”_ she said, barely a whisper, but with certainty. With faith. As if she _knew._

Five thousand millennia was a long time to exist without touch. Not just shadows licking at her heels and running down her spine – tangible _touch_. So at the first brush of their golden fur, a foreign gentle pressure on her skin, she was still and stiff. Something deep within her still wanted to bite back, to react the only way she knew how for so long. One had to be ruthless to survive in the shadows.

But a moment passed, and the misty darkness that clouded her memories disappeared into the present. She remembered where she was, who she was with - and she melted into the touch. Then, tentatively, she began to nuzzle into the other affectionate cat’s fur. Warmth overwhelmed her very being, so new and strange, but she wasn't afraid. It was as if for a moment, the world was how it was meant to be.

As she opened her eyes to look at her human, she knew _he_ felt it, too.

One day, they would repay them for everything this kind soul has given them. The promise resonated between and within them, these nameless creatures who found a home in this kind boy. _One day._

“We’ll find out who you both were,” Yugi whispered, looking at the Pharaoh. No matter his size, she was certain that an armada could be stopped by the passion and conviction in that look alone. How could they have ever thought he was weak? Had the darkness made them so blind that they hadn’t seen the strength of this boy’s soul the moment they were released? “But until we do, I just...don’t want you guys to think that you –”

“We don’t,” the Pharaoh assured him, who had stood up to go to Yugi’s side. He put a hand on his shoulder, and his daemon purred. His gentle smile, the one that was meant for Yugi alone, was one that she hoped to see more often. “Thank you. Thank you both.”

Yugi’s smile was bright enough to be blinding that night. He turned to her and asked, “So, what do you think? Can we call you Ka?”

She cocked her head to look at each of them, these precious tangled-up souls, and tried very hard to keep a long, deep purr from escaping her throat.

“It will do.”

In the starlight, Wadjet and Ka’s tails delicately intertwined. 

**Author's Note:**

> For more information on the daemons in this au, please follow the link below! I'll be adding to it as I write more.  
> http://ladybastet92.dreamwidth.org/80151.html


End file.
